Oliver Rowland has topped the timesheets in the first FIA Formula 2 Championship free practice session with a blistering lap under scorching conditions this morning at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, leading the way for most of the session by less than a tenth from Artem Markelov and Charles Leclerc.

The Briton stopped the clocks at 1:42.221 just nine minutes into the session, which opened under a cloudless sky, with track temperatures at 45 degrees C as the lights went green to open the session. All of the drivers headed straight out onto the circuit to get the day started, with Johnny Cecotto setting the first competitive lap 6 minutes in, before being usurped by Nobuharu Matsushita next time round.

Rowland stole the top spot on the next lap, as Markelov (0.092s) and Antonio Fuoco (0.160s) following in his wake. With such extreme temperatures and serious tyre wear at the desert circuit there was little chance of improvement, although Leclerc had clearly saved some tyres for a quick run at the 15 minute mark to nab P3 by a hundredth from his teammate.

The second half of the session was focused on race pace, leaving little opportunity for a change on the timesheet, with the only excitement revolving around a few drivers being caught out by the heat as they stopped at the end of the pitlane for practice starts, putting the marshals to work pushing the stricken cars back across the line for their teams to restart.

Behind the top three Fuoco, Norman Nato, Luca Ghiotto, Nyck De Vries, Johnny Cecotto and Matsushita all posted times within a second of the top spot, and will be hoping to find a small margin in the cooler conditions for this evening's qualifying session.

1. Oliver Rowland DAMS 1:42.221
2. Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:42.313
3. Charles Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:42.372
4. Antonio Fuoco PREMA Racing 1:42.381
5. Norman Nato Pertamina Arden 1:42.594
6. Luca Ghiotto RUSSIAN TIME 1:42.715
7. Nyck De Vries Rapax 1:43.052
8. Johnny Cecotto Rapax 1:43.146
9. Nobuharu Matsushita ART Grand Prix 1:43.213
10. Gustav Malja Racing Engineering 1:43.230
11. Sergio Sette Camara MP Motorsport 1:43.260
12. Jordan King MP Motorsport 1:43.265
13. Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:43.232
14. Sean Gelael Pertamina Arden 1:43.355
15. Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:43.479
16. Stefano Coletti Campos Racing 1:43.632 16
17. Nabil Jeffri Trident 1:43.891
18. Sergio Canamasas Trident 1:43.958
19 Louis Delétraz Racing Engineering 1:44.016
20. Alexander Albon ART Grand Prix 1:44.360